da

«da» in Mova's school dictionary: a playful spelling of «the», as in «da best»; it copies… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

slang spelling and foreign word: «da» = the (slang), dad (dialect); Italian/Portuguese «da» = from; Russian «da» = yes — a fragment

meaning for a pupil

1) (slang) «Da» is a playful spelling of «the», as in «da best»; it copies how some people say «the». tree →

2) (Ireland, Scotland, Northern England, informal) «Da» means dad: «me da». tree →

3) (Russian) «Da» means «yes» in Russian; Ukrainian for «yes» is «tak», not «da». tree →

4) (Italian, Portuguese) «Da» means «from» or «by»: Leonardo da Vinci means «Leonardo from Vinci». tree →

5) (Mandarin, pinyin) «Dà» means «big». To an English ear it sounds like «dah». tree →

6) (a name) Da can also be part of a surname from Scotland or Ireland, such as Mac an Da’v. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday talk in Ireland and Scotland children say «me da» for my dad. In online chat and songs «da» stands for «the». In history and art lessons pupils meet «Leonardo da Vinci». In Mandarin lessons «dà» (big) and «xiǎo» (small) are early words. In stories about the Cold War, a Russian character might say «da».

examples

• «Me da's picking me up after school», said Aoife. tree →
• Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa. tree →
• «Da» means «yes» in Russian. tree →
• In Ukrainian, «yes» is «tak». tree →
• In Mandarin, «dà» means «big». tree →
• The poster said «Da Best Burgers in Town». tree →
• Grandad calls his own father «Da». tree →
• Mac an Da’v turned to him. tree →

note

Not a standard English word. In writing use «the» and «dad». Do not assume Russian and Ukrainian words are the same: «yes» is «da» in Russian but «tak» in Ukrainian. In names like «da Vinci» the «da» usually keeps a small d.

In the corpora

• Oisin's da said he'd stopped smoking.
• I'm sorry.» Oisin hugged him — he trusted his da more because he told the truth when it was hard.
• In Dublin, Hester can't wake her da in the afternoon to sign a school form, so she writes his name herself.
• Mum's is the everyday.» Hester has two rooms: Da's has fairy lights, Mam's is plain.
• She feels bad for liking Da's more, until she tells Mam.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «da» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.